Dodgers News: Miguel Vargas' Season Long Struggles Could Start Losing Him Playing Time
The Dodgers have played the wait and see game with rookie infielder Miguel Vargas for nearly three months up to this point. While his play at second base has improved drastically as the season has gone along, his bat has remained well behind.
Remember, that was supposed to be his calling card. The slugger out of Cuba with baseball in his genes had hit at every level of the minor leagues since the Dodgers signed him as an international free agent in 2017. Yet he's hitting just over the Mendoza line with a .201 average in 72 games this season.
The Dodgers may be running out of patience with the 23-year-old. Or, more accurately, they can no longer afford to keep running him out there every day with the hope that he'll somehow figure it out.
Manager Dave Roberts addressed the situation on Sunday.
"It's interesting. For Miguel, the thing we could bank or bet on was the bat to ball, getting hits, and then some on base. I think right now there's some pressing. But he's in it, he's grinding. ... I think the biggest surprise is he's missing pitches that are in the strike zone. At this level, when you get pitches in the hitting zone and you miss them or you foul them off or you pop them up, that's the most telling thing for me."
Roberts added that Vargas is working through some mechanical issues and has been late on pitches while trying a little too hard to pull pitches for power.
The swing has certainly looked long at times for Vargas. Dodgers analyst Jerry Hairston Jr has weighed in on the different approach the rookie has shown as a big leaguer. Mind you, Vargas owns a career .313 average down in the minor leagues.
He was on the bench at the outset of Sunday's game, something that we may be seeing a bit more often moving forward.
"For me, I'm gonna be more mindful of trying to give him days off and try to get him back on track," Roberts revealed. "This is a tough one."
If playing time starts to dwindle for Vargas, we could see Mookie Betts at the position a little more often in the coming months. We will also likely see another rookie, Michael Busch, get more of an opportunity at second base, a position he's much more comfortable with.
"Michael's doing a really nice job filling in for Max both defensively and in the batter's box," Roberts said. "We'll see how it goes each day. ... It is comforting knowing that Michael can play second base."
Of course, Busch isn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball as a big leaguer either. Production out of the second base position may very well be an area the Dodgers need to address at the upcoming trade deadline which is less than six weeks away.
